


Diplomacy is for Diplomats

by orphan_account



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Background Vaxleth, Gen, Snowball Fights, and becomes a beautiful badass all her own, background perc'ahlia - Freeform, but that's later ;), i love this child so much yall, lots of sibling IN LAW relationships AYYYYY, lots of sibling relationships, percy and vex are gonna get married and velora is almost more enthusiastic about it than they are, velora grows up, velora reminds percy of a younger cassandra and it is both great and terrifying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-09-27 00:18:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9939062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: ...and it's not really Velora's style. She prefers to act like her bigger siblings and their friends, and she is positively delighted to be a part of the Vox Machina family. Velora gets in snowball fights and beats up bullies and lets her father lecture her about why you can't beat people up, until she gets older and realizes he's rather a bully himself, in his own special way. She hopes to change the legacy.





	1. The Battle of the Snows

The citizens of whitestone old enough to remember Lord Frederick remembered him as a fair ruler, well aware the needs of his people, if suitably nobly separated from them. Lady Cassandra and Lord Percival and Lady Vex’ahlia were also fair, good rulers. Cassandra maintained her suitable noble distance. Percy and Vex… not so much.

Not for the first time, and not for the last, the Sun Tree cracked open, and there was an immediate loud gasp. A small elven girl, about ten years old, ran out into the main square and jumped up and down squealing. “Vex, Vax, Keyleth, Percy, you didn’t tell me it snowed in Whitestone!”

“Did we not?” Vex asked.

“We thought it’d be a fun surprise,” Vax answered. “What do you wanna explore first, the castle or the town?”

Velora stopped moving (so much, she was still positively vibrating with excitement) to consider. She glanced around the square, and peered up at the castle through the fog. “I wanna…” quick as a flash, she ducked down, scooped up two handfuls of snow, and threw them in the faces of her siblings. “Catch me if you can!” she squealed, and darted off while the grown-ups spluttered with feigned rage on the part of the twins and laughter on the part of their consorts. 

“Aw, she really is your little sister,” Keyleth said fondly.

By the time they caught up to Velora, who was shockingly fast for being so short and unused to snow, she was deep in a snowball fight on the empty lot that technically belonged to Vex. The grown-ups stopped at the edge of the lot to watch, and all four of them noticed that she was already quite popular. 

Largely because of her absolute ferocity.

“Vax’ildan, I do believe I’ve seen you throw daggers with less vigor than she’s throwing snowballs,” Percy said.

“I’m so proud,” Vax responded, fake sniffling and clasping his hands over his heart. 

The grown-ups watched Velora and her squad of new best friends take over the battlefield with pride in their hearts, and at some point Vex took Trinket out of the necklace so he could roll about in the snow. At another point, Vax slowly edged behind Percy and grabbed a handful of snow. He held a finger to his lips when he caught Keyleth watching him, and in a mere second he pulled Percy’s collar back, shoved the snow down his shirt, and dashed off to cower behind Velora.

“Protect me sister!” he wailed melodramatically as Percy downright screeched.

Snowballs hit both siblings in short order. It couldn’t have been Percy, as he was still jumping about trying not to touch the snow down his shirt (it didn’t bother him that much after the first seconds and he was mostly making a show for fun), and Vex looked far too smug for her own good. 

“What was that for?” Velora yelled, giggling.

“To defend my man’s honor, obviously.”

“Yes, thank you Vex, you are surely the best of women,” Percy said, leaning over her shoulder. “How did I ever live before you?”

“I have no idea,” Vex said primly.

Their affectionate smooch was interrupted by a well-aimed snowball right between their mouths, and Velora’s cries of “kissing is gross!”

“Yes, keep that attitude it’s good for you,” Vex said right before several pounds of snow was dumped over her and Percy’s heads by a very smug-looking Keyleth. 

“Hey, I gotta defend _my_ man’s honor,” she quipped, and darted off to join Vax and Velora.

Most of the children, who had all been properly educated by their parents to Respect Nobles And Adults, Which Means Don’t Throw Snowballs At Them, had nervously watched this exchange from the moment Velora reared back an attack on Vex and Percy. When Keyleth dumped the snow on them and joined Vax and Velora, however, they collectively decided that if the grown-ups were going to get in on this great battle, it was their sacred duty as kids to show them how a snowball fight is _really_ done. 

The battlefield was divided into two great armies: the Owlbears, commanded by Velora, Vax, and Keyleth, and the Trinkets, commanded by Vex, Percy, and of course Trinket (who was mostly just running around in the snow and very very gently nudging children over with his nose). When Percy started teaching his followers the finer points of Fort Building, Vax decided that it was time to also teach them about Aerial Assault, and took to the air with a great whoosh of his raven wings.

“Oh, you little sh- _birdbrain_ ,” Vex said, pulling her broom from her back. “This is war!” she shouted as she joined him in the air. 

All of the children, and several of their adults, oohed appreciatively at the dramatic battle that proceeded above the warzone below. The twins constantly darted around each other, swooping like falcons towards the ground to gather ammunition and careening back into the air for their assaults.

A pair of small blond twins figured out the concept of Calvary and promptly commandeered a willing Trinket as their noble steed, to which Keyleth responded by shapeshifting into another bear to carry her own troops into battle, leaving Percy and Velora alone to command their own forces. 

Man and girl regarded each other as two chess players might regard each other. As a pride of lions and a pack of hyenas on the same land might regard each other. As two stags in fall might regard each other. As two increasingly far-fetched similes might regard each other. 

Percival de Rolo commanded his troops with the strategic elegance of a man who grew up reading books about war.

Velora Vessar commanded her troops with the energetic passion of a girl who refused to lose to a silly grown-up.

In the end, the Battle of the Snows came to a draw, the battlefield littered with the bodies of exhausted children. Mournful cries sounded as the soldiers were taken home for dinner, calls of “five more minutes” and “can we come back tomorrow?”

A bear, a man, three half-elves, and a little girl, sat in the middle of the not-so-fresh snow. They looked at each other. They giggled.

“You fought nobly and commanded well, fair Velora,” Percy said in his best uppercrust noble voice, putting his hand out.

“And you as well, fair Percy,” Velora said, puffing out her chest as she shook his hand. “Vex and Vax, your flying was so _cool_!” she exclaimed. “Can you show me how to ride your broom Vex? Please please please?”

“I don’t think that fancy seat’s the right size for you, squirt,” said Vax. “It’s kind of a custom job.”

“Yes, Percy fitted it just for Vex’s butt,” Keyleth added, purely for the joy of watching Percy and Vex’s faces while Velora made dramatic puking noises.

“That’s enough of that then,” Percy said. “I think what we all need now is a set of dry clothes and perhaps some hot chocolate.”

“Tell you what,” Keyleth said, “You’re a little big to ride with Vex on the broom and Vax’s wings are spent for the day, so _I’ll_ fly you back to the castle.” To the sound of Velora’s delighted squealing, she transformed into a giant eagle, carefully grabbed her around the shoulders, and lifted off, followed by Vex on the broom. 

“Race you to the castle!” she said as she took off, followed by Trinket with his tongue lolling out like a dog.

“That’s hardly fair!” Percy protested as he and Vax took chase.

“Yeah, have mercy on your poor flightless men, would you?”

“What happened to defending our honor?”

Cassandra happened to be going by the front hall when the group tumbled in, tracking all manner of snow and mess into the castle. “You must be Velora.”

“You’re Cassandra, right? You’re really pretty.”

“Why thank you, those braids are quite lovely as well.”

“I did them myself!” Velora said cheerily as a panting Percy and Vax finally got inside.

Cassandra looked at each soaked individual one by one, and smiled. “I think, Velora, that before you leave I’ll have to teach you the best strategies to beat my brother in a snowball fight.”

“ _What?_ ”

“ _Awesome!_ ”

Vex went off to show Velora to her guest room, and Percy stared at Cassandra. “Really?” he squeaked.

Cassandra patted him on the cheek. “I have to pass my great knowledge of how to annoy you on to somebody, Percival.”

“She reminds me of you when you were her age,” he said, with only the faintest mask of annoyance over the fondness. 

“All the better. Put on something dry before you catch cold, now.”


	2. Tinkering and the Inquisitiveness of Youth

Twas spring, and a twelve-year-old Velora Vessar skipped through the Sun Tree, accompanied by her siblings, Percy, and Keyleth. “Hey Percy, can you show me how to make something?” she asked as they walked up to the castle.

Percy raised an eyebrow. “What kind of something do you want to make?”

“I dunno, something neat.” Velora considered the question, chewing the inside of her cheek and swinging her arms. “Maybe like, a little clock and a music box put together so it plays music when I have to get up in the morning?”

“That’s clever. A bit ambitious for your first project but…” he shrugged. “Sure, it’ll be our project for the week.”

“Yes!”

The group soon got inside the castle, where Cassandra was waiting to greet them. Velora ran right up and hugged her - Velora had declared her an honorary sister after learning the fine art of Percy Pranking from her - and got a big hug back.

“Cassandra, can I borrow an old music box?” Percy asked.

“Are you going to modify it to spray water at me like you did to Whitney?”

“ _No_ ,” Percy said, feigning offense, “I’m going to disassemble it to show Velora its inner workings. I’ll even put it back together _before_ I return it to you.”

“Oh, how generous,” Cassandra said dryly.

“Percy’s gonna help me make a combination clock and music box!”

“I see. Vex’ahlia, I presume that you’ll make sure they remember to eat?” Cassandra asked.

“Certainly.”

An hour later found Velora and Percy in Percy’s workshop, where Percy was taking apart a clock and explaining its inner workings to Velora and her absolute delight.

“Now,” Percy said as he laid the last piece on the great workshop table, “put it back together.”

Velora’s eyes widened to big blue dinner plates. “ _What?_ ”

“I showed you all the pieces and how they go together, let’s see how well you remember.” He pushed the two small screwdrivers he had been using over to her and sat back to watch.

“Okay,” Velora squeaked, but she started piecing things together. “ _Shit_ \- sorry!” she said as a spring nearly flew off the table. She grabbed it, casting a nervous glance at Percy to see if her language would get her in trouble.

Percy simply laughed. “Wasn’t it one of us who taught you that word in the first place? Please, swearing at your tools and supplies is part of the building process. You will truly be an engineer only after you catch yourself cussing out an inanimate object. Keep going, you were putting that spring in the right spot you just let go of it too quickly.”

It took a couple tries, and a little more swearing that still left Velora’s heart thudding at least once because her parents would be _so_ offended if she said it at home, but she managed to get the clock back together by herself. 

“Good job,” Percy said earnestly, clapping her on the back. He reset the clock to the time on his pocketwatch, and sighed at it. “Next we’ll take Cassandra’s music box apart and put it together, but dinner should be ready in an hour and I think we should try to make it to one meal without Vex prompting us, don’t you?”

Velora laughed. “Does she have to drag you out of here a lot?”

“More often than I’d like to admit. Do you know how to read sheet music?”

“Yeah?”

“While we’re waiting for dinner, figure out what song you want your music box to play and write it out, we’ll use that later.”

“Okay!” As they came up the stairs to the main floor of the castle, Vex’ahlia just came around the corner.

“Well hello, my favorite tinkerers, I was just about to give you your hour warning. How was it?” she asked, and eagerly listened as Velora explained in the excruciatingly detailed way of a very excited young person how she had spent the past few hours.

“She’s a quick learner,” Percy said approvingly. “This project may not even take the entire week if she keeps it up.”

“Maybe I can make one for you, Vex!”

“That would be _much_ appreciated, darling. I’m sure you’d love to tell me even more while we get ready for dinner, yes?”

Three days later, Velora stood next to Percy while he demonstrated to her how to use the forge and shape metal.

“Once the metal’s turned this yellow color and it’s _just_ starting to turn white, that’s when you should take it out because if you let it go too long-”

“So when are you gonna propose to Vex?”

“-just drip and-” Percy broke off, coughing and spluttering. “ _What_?” he asked, and barely had the presence of mind to thrust the steel he was working into the quenching trough before somebody got injured. 

Velora raised an eyebrow over her safety glasses. “When are you going to propose marriage to Vex?” she repeated matter-of-factly.

Percy didn’t respond so much as he made an undignified squeak that could generally be translated as “ _ **???**_ ”

Velora rolled her eyes. “You two look at each other like the lovesick teenagers I see in the park all the time, except you’ve been that way since Syngorn was in the Feywild and that was _forever_ ago. You should propose to her. She’ll say yes.”

“And how would you know?”

“Magic sister powers,” she deadpanned. “Come on Percy, she all but told me she’ll say yes if you ask. So when, are you going, to do it?”

“...Eventually,” Percy said finally. “Eventually. Maybe soon, even. I don’t know, why are you pestering me about it?”

Velora laughed. “To see your reaction. Also to make sure I’m invited to the wedding.”

Percy sighed, and then laughed with her. “Of course you’re invited to the _entirely hypothetical_ wedding. Now, _as I was saying_ …”

“Hypothetical my ass,” Velora muttered under her breath, and Percy pretended not to have heard it.

All told, Velora ended up splitting her time fairly evenly between Percy’s workshop and the courtyard of Whitestone Castle, where she had convinced Vex to teach her to ride the flying broomstick. Keyleth and the twins took her home to Syngorn (Percy was helping Cassandra with an ornery visiting diplomat), where she very excitedly showed her creation to Syldor and Devana. In the end, the musical alarm clock was a bit bulky and unshapely, but the casing had been well-polished and treated to a chemical etching depicting simple images of a woman and a girl on a broomstick, with a winged man swooping alongside them on one side, and a girl and her parents on the other side.

Syldor and Devana both commended Velora on the device, though Syldor primarily praised its practicality for teaching her to get herself up in the morning, and Devana seemed very concerned that her daughter had been working with a hot forge and acid and various small saws. 

“It’s okay, mama, Percy’s a really good teacher and made sure to lecture me on safety before showing me any new technique, and I only hurt myself once!” Velora said, proudly showing off the bandaged burn on her right forearm and absolutely negating any chance she’d had of reassuring her mother. 

Syldor looked sharply at Vex and Vax. “You allowed this?”

Vex shrugged. “They showed the burn to Pike and she insisted that it didn’t need magical healing, and Velora wanted to show off her battle scar as it were.”

“I gave her a jar of ointment for it,” Keyleth added. “It’s from a desert plant that’s great for burns and sunburns, make sure she puts it on the burn twice a day until it’s completely healed.”

“I see. In the future, I would dearly appreciate it if you _didn’t_ encourage my daughter towards hobbies that cause injury.”

“They didn’t encourage me towards anything, I asked Percy myself if he would show me how to make stuff,” Velora argued. “Besides, it’s not any more dangerous than archery or swordplay, and I have tutors for both of those.”

Syldor made a pained expression that made him look constipated, but he nodded. “I see. Well, thank you, Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan and Keyleth, for bringing Velora home. I know how she loves her visits to Whitestone.”

“Vax and Keyleth said that I can also visit Zephra!”

“Really?” Syldor asked, fixing Keyleth with his what the fuck are you teaching my daughter face. “I understand that Zephra has a lot of cliffs and is rather isolated.”

“This is true,” Keyleth said slowly, “but Vax can fly and Zephra is quite literally full of healers, if, gods forbid, Velora _does_ get hurt. She would have an opportunity to learn about the relationship between the Material and other planes that is quite rare, and as Headmaster of the Air Ashari, I can make sure there’s always a guard present to keep her safe.”

The reminder of Keyleth’s status seemed to put Syldor back down, and he nodded stiffly. “I will think about it. Good day.”

“Good call reminding him of your title, Headmaster,” Vex said softly as they walked away.

“Well, titles do seem to be the only thing he listens to,” Keyleth replied.

“You are not wrong,” Vax agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sophomore year of high school I took a class called Fire Arts and gained a whole new appreciation for aloe goop. This chapter is partially a love letter to that class. Also I wanted to see Velora completely fluster Percy pestering him to marry Vex.


	3. The Schoolgirl Scuffle

It was spring in Syngorn, and a fifteen-year-old Velora Vessar was walking home from school. She passed a narrow side street that was just a bit too wide to be called an alley when she heard a young voice crying “give it back!” She backtracked a bit and peeked around the corner to see a trio of elves, all boys a few years older than herself, holding a toy horse over the head of a half-elven ten-year-old. 

“Oh, come on Qiro,” said a vaguely blue-skinned elf, nudging his buddy in the side, “he looks so pathetic.” 

“He does,” agreed the gold-haired elf currently holding the horse, “that’s why he’s not getting it back.”

“It’s nicely made,” said the third elf, who had a poorly-done phoenix tattoo on his arm, as he took the toy. “I don’t think the little half-breed deserves it.”

Velora narrowed her eyes. _What absolute fuckheads_ , she thought, and then she began to consider her odds. There were three of them and they were bigger than her, but they hadn’t noticed her yet and on her last trip to Whitestone, Pike had taught her how to use her small size to her advantage if, gods forbid, she should get in a fight. Syldor wouldn’t like it if she got in a fight, he might even change his mind about letting her attend a school instead of having tutors in home - after all, that decision had almost certainly involved pressure from Vox Machina. 

And then Qiro the gold-haired elf dropped the toy horse and it shattered on the pavement, and the little boy started sobbing, and Velora found herself absolutely failing to give a damn.

“Oi shitfaces!” she yelled, dropping her bag and entering the defensive stance Vax had taught her. “Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?” When the boys all turned toward her she realized that she could have snuck up behind them and knocked their feet out from under them, but it was too late for that. 

Grog had once advised her that your strongest muscles are in your legs, so you should only ever punch someone if you don’t have a weapon and your feet are nailed to the floor. That in mind, Velora bent low and picked up a loose stone, which she lobbed straight between Blue’s eyes, sending him to the ground swearing about his face. She grinned, right in time to realize that Tattoo was practically on top of her. She swore in Giant and mostly dodged, though she did get a lot of his weight on her shoulder and a fist to her cheekbone as he fell over. 

_Weight on your toes, keep one eye on your opponent and one eye on an escape route_ , echoed Vax’s voice in her mind. So she shifted slightly so she could see all three elves and the way down the road. Tattoo rushed her again and, just like Pike had taught her, she grabbed him by the shoulder, swiveled, and bent over so he tumbled head first into the cobbles. “You know, three of the most powerful people in the world are half-elves. Maybe you should get an education before you go around being a bunch of racist assholes,” she told them.

“Maybe _you_ should get an education on who _we_ are,” Qiro said, approaching her, though there was a bit of apprehension in his eyes when he noticed the blood in Tattoos’ hair. 

“I’m not afraid of a gang of overgrown children too dumb to act proper to people different from them,” Velora snapped back. 

He laughed and, once close enough, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her around so her back was to him and his forearm was pressed to her neck in half a chokehold. Panic spiked in Velora while he monologued about the opportunity to get rough, and she remembered a different bit of training from Vex’ahlia. One of her arms was free and she reached down and grabbed a pair of soft bits and squeezed hard until she felt something in there turn to mush and the bigger elf screamed in falsetto. 

Velora wriggled out of his grasp and let him collapse to the ground, holding himself, and brushed some dust from the front of her dress. “I learned how to do that from a half-elf,” she sneered. “Now bugger off!” 

Blue and Tattoos made no hesitation to help their leader get away, muttering about insane twelve-year-olds. When she was satisfied that they were gone, Velora picked up her bag and went to the little boy, who was staring at her in awe.

“That was amazing,” he breathed, and then remembered the remains of his toy. “But my Simon…” he sniffled again, but seemed to be trying not to cry in front of his savior.

Velora quirked up a smile at the reminder of Simon the Snake(belt), and gathered up the painted shards. “I might be able to do something for Simon here,” she said, and began to focus very hard in the way that Keyleth had taught her. She scrunched up her face in concentration and she thought it took much longer than it would have taken Keyleth, but all the bits of leg and flank and head and tail came together into a perfectly majestic chestnut stallion. 

The boy, all green eyes and light blond hair, gasped and hugged the horse to his chest, before hugging Velora. “Thank you thank you thank you!” he cried. He let go of her and hugged the horse a little more, and looked at her very seriously. “Is that true? That three of the most powerful people in the world are half-elves?”

Velora grinned. “Yep! My big sister Vex’ahlia is the ambassador from Whitestone, and my big brother Vax’ildan is champion of the Raven Queen, and his wife Keyleth is the leader of a whole tribe of druids, and all three of them are half-elves just like you.”

He grinned wide. “I wanna be like them when I grow up!”

“So do I,” Velora giggled. “What’s your name?”

“Diggory.”

“Diggory, savior of Tal’dorei,” Velora said experimentally. “Sounds pretty good to me. I’m Velora,” she added, and they shook hands. “How about I walk you home and make sure those mean guys don’t come back, huh?”

Diggory nodded. “Okay.”

Velora got home an hour later, feeling good aside from the bruises on her face, shoulder, and wrist - and those would heal soon enough anyway - and was immediately pulled into a bear hug by her mother. “Uh, hi mama, sorry I’m late,” she said.

“What took you so long getting home?” Devana asked, and then she registered the developing black eye on her daughter’s face and gasped. “Did you get in a fight? Syldor! Our daughter was late from school because she got in a fight!”

“ _Mom_ , I’m fine, it’ll heal in a week. If I get some salve on it right now it’ll take even less than that,” she argued, though it did nothing to stop Syldor from practically flying into the foyer. 

“You _WHAT?_ ” Syldor demanded, taking in the black eye, the bruise on her wrist, and the way Velora was carefully avoiding her shoulder. “What in the name of all the gods did you get in a fight for, Velora, that is not the behavior for a young lady!”

Velora sighed. “I was on the way home and I saw some older guys bullying a little half-elf kid. I went to the kid’s defense and the three guys rushed me and I fought them off. Honestly, they’re the ones worse off, I think I concussed two of them. And then I walked the kid home to make sure he was safe.” 

“Velora, you can’t do that,” Syldor said. “Injuring two people-”

“-Three-”

“ _Three_ people, what kind of reputation would that put on you, on all of us?”

“They didn’t know who I was,” Velora argued. “All they know is I’m some rando who can fight and wouldn’t let them shit on-”

“Velora, _language_ ,” Devana scolded.

“-a half-elf just cause he’s a half-elf!”

“I don’t care about half-elves-”

Velora’s jaw dropped and she made a face of disgust. “Dad, did you just forget that two out of three of your _own children_ are half-elves?” she demanded. 

Syldor paused and eventually shut his mouth, fuming. “Velora, you’re grounded for the next two weeks. Straight to school and straight back, no pauses along the way, no going to friends’ houses, absolutely no fights.”

Velora rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. I’m gonna put some salve on my bruises and then I have an essay to start writing for religious studies anyway.” She went to the kitchen and got a jar of herbal goop and then went to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She threw herself onto her bed and groaned before sitting up and opening the jar. And while she applied it to her black eye, watching her progress in a hand mirror, she thought about the implications of her father’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you just hate when you're making a perfectly good argument and your parents ignore it because you *gasp* _said a swear?_


End file.
